Animal habitat and display system

ABSTRACT

An animal habitat and display system provided in a frame supporting at least one drawer with first and second air filled environmental compartments separated by a common divider wall capable of conducting heat directly between the compartment environments with each environment having a corresponding selectively operable heat transfer element and temperature sensor that are in communication with an environmental control unit such that, upon receipt of temperature signals from the sensors, the control unit may transmit a command signal to one or both of the heat transfer elements to selectively regulate the temperatures within the compartment environments.

This is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 10/979,917, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,032,540, filed Nov. 2, 2004, which is in turn a continuationof 10/352,617, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,833, filed on Jan. 28, 2003, bothof which are entitled Animal Habitat and Display System and incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of display devices, and morespecifically, to display devices including a habitat for showcasinganimals such as reptiles, amphibians, and other animals commonly sold inretail pet or specialty pet stores and controlling the environment ofsuch habitat.

2. Background

For the pet store owner or other animal keeper, control of environmentalconditions such as temperature, lighting, humidity, noise, food, air andwater quality, animal waste and other environmental conditions, withinand immediately surrounding the animal's habitat as well as controllingaccess for handling the animal are common concerns in maintaining ahealthy animal. Cold-blooded animals, such as reptiles and amphibians,require even greater attention to temperature control as an especiallycritical component to the survival of the animal.

To house the animal, glass, acrylic, or plastic walled tanks arecommonly used in retail and specialty pet stores as both in-storedisplays and living quarters for all kinds of animals including rodents,reptiles, birds, cats, dogs, fish, and other commonly sold pets. Thetanks frequently include a heating element such as a hot rock or heatingpad, a light, a substrate, water, food, and other environmentalfeatures. A thermometer is often placed inside the tank at a convenientlocation visible to the animal caretaker to monitor the tanktemperature. Such tanks provide a habitat for the animals during theirstay in the store.

Often such tanks are placed on a stand and placed in a high traffic areaof the store enabling prospective customers to view the animal oranimals. Given that pet store owners may have a relatively largeinventory with limited floor space, the use of single cage displays isoften limited to select animals or avoided altogether. Because of thelimited store space, more often the tanks are arranged in some sort ofstacked relationship on a display rack. Normally, access to the animalis either provided from a room behind the rack where the store employeemay enter or the store employee may access the tank from the front. Ineither case, the tank typically includes a removable top lid which mustbe held up or placed aside while the animal handler attempts to handlethe animal. This often results in the animal escaping as the handlermust hold the lid with one hand or having removed the lid completely toplace his or her arm inside the tank to grab the animal, the removed lidleaves a large opening through the animal may escape. In addition, theease in which the animal may be accessed by merely lifting a lid leavesthe store owner prone to theft. Some display tanks may include a keylock system to secure access to the tank and thus the animal. Each tankmay have its own lock or the lock may restrict access to a number oftanks. Keys are then distributed to store personnel. Thus, when ananimal handler desires to show an animal to a prospective customer orotherwise handle the animal, a key is produced to unlock the lid to thetank. This still leaves the store owner prone to theft from ex-employeeswith keys and there is no accountability as to which employee opened thetanks. For instance, keys are easily duplicated and anyone with a keymay access the tank. One employee may easily blame another employee. Inaddition, the expense of changing a lock every time an employee isterminated incurs an unnecessary expense on the employer. Moreover, evenwithout a key it is not uncommon for a thief to merely force the lockopen without undue effort.

In addition to the concerns of displaying the animals in limited storefloor space and controlling the access and handling of the creatures,control of other environmental conditions is difficult in a multi-tankdisplay. The difficulty of managing the heat control increases asdisplay tanks are placed proximate to one another. In simple set ups, anin-tank heater such as a heat rock, which is a heating element coveredby a simulated rock-like cover, is placed in the animal tank and pluggedinto a nearby power source. Many heat rocks simply warm to a particulartemperature while some allow the operator to vary the temperaturesomewhat. In either case, the owner runs the risk of burning the animalif it is exposed directly to the heat rock for too long. In addition,such rocks may not distribute heat evenly creating similar burnconcerns.

Moreover, the proximity of the tanks increases the difficulty ofcontrolling the temperature as heat created in the lower tanks rises tothe upper tanks. As typically some sort of lighting and heating systemmust accompany each tank or display, the tendency of heat transferringfrom one tank to another due to lighting equipment and heating equipmentin a closely spaced display system results in inadequate temperaturestability and control often resulting in the death of the animals,especially when the animals are left unattended.

Thus, one common practice is to space the tanks relatively far apart.This arrangement, however, wastes display space and lengthens the wiringrequirements for lighting and heating power cords. In addition, each ofthe heating and lighting elements is typically connected to a singleoutlet panel controlled by a switch and thus individual control of theenvironmental controls of the tanks is not attainable.

Another environmental concern arises when the animals are leftunattended, such as, during off hours in which the environmentalconditions in the store may change significantly. For example, nighttimetemperatures may drop drastically if the heating system controlling thestore temperature fails. Such change in the ambient temperaturesurrounding the animal habitats affects the temperature in the habitatswhich are not isolated from the ambient air. On the other extreme,during higher temperature ambient conditions, the store air conditioningsystem can cease functioning properly. In such situations, the animalsare placed at great health risk as the ambient temperature and thus tanktemperature rises.

As the health of the animals as both an asset to the store and a concernof the animal care taker is a serious concern, controlling the habitatenvironment, including access to the habitat, are paramount concerns inorder to run a successful business or animal care taking facility suchas a veterinarian's office and is something which conventional animalhabitats fail to satisfactorily provide.

Thus, what is needed and heretofore unavailable is a more efficientmultiple display case system with improved animal handlingcharacteristics and improved environmental control features whiledeterring theft and providing access accountability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, theanimal habitat and display system includes a frame supporting at leastone drawer having first and second compartments defining respective airfilled internal environments and separated by a common divider wallcapable of conducting heat directly between said environments with eachcompartment including respective heating elements and temperaturesensors in communication with an environmental control unit that may,upon receipt of temperature signals from the temperature sensorscorresponding to the temperatures within the air filled environments,transmit a command signal to either or both of the heat transferelements to selectively regulate temperatures within the compartments.

In one aspect of the present invention, the heating element may be inthe form of a radiating heat transfer element such as a heat lampsupported above the compartment and/or a conductive heat transferelement which may take the form of a heating pad underlying thecompartment.

In another aspect of the present invention, an ambient temperaturesensor and/or ambient humidity sensor is provided for measuring andtransmitting a signal corresponding to a temperature or humidityexternal to the internal environments that is also taken into account bythe control unit in selectively regulating the temperatures within thecompartments.

Yet another feature of the present invention is the incorporation of anovertemperature sensor and/or humidity sensor providing input to thecontrol unit for regulating the temperatures of the compartments.

Another feature of the present invention in the introduction of aselectively accessible control panel for selectively operating theheating elements.

Another aspect of the present invention is the incorporation of at leastone auxiliary fan mounted that may be periodically actuated by theenvironmental control unit to actively control the convective heattransfer about the compartments and frame.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is the inclusion of acompartment wall that may be moved in a first direction to provideaccess into the compartment while cooperating with the frame as thedrawer moves to a retracted position to close off the compartment.

In other aspects of the present invention, the control unit includes analarm and a voltage monitor in communication with the heat transferelements and is operable to detect a failure of a heat transfer elementwhereupon the environmental control unit may activate the alarm and mayalso remotely report diagnostic results indicative of the status of thesystem and its respective components.

Another feature of the present invention is the inclusion of a railguard for inhibiting debris from fouling up the guide rail assemblies.

Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent with furtherreference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a right front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of ananimal habitat and display apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is partial, exploded view, in enlarged scale, of a drawer, in anextended position, and partial frame of the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along lines 3—3of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along lines4—4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along line5—5 of FIG. 1 illustrating a drawer of the animal habitat and displaysystem as illustrated in FIG. 1 but with the drawer in an extendedposition as illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view top view, in enlarged scale, takenalong lines 6—6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the preferred embodiment of the animal habitatand display system illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional top view, in enlarged scale, taken alonglines 8—8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along lines9—9 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along lines10—10 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view, in enlarged scale, of the controlpanel of the preferred embodiment of the animal habitat and displaysystem illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a schematic of an exemplary wiring diagram illustrating theenvironmental control system in accordance with a preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary block diagram of the environmental controlsystem of a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a right front perspective, exploded view, in reduced scale ofthe frame, guide rail, and drawer assembly of the animal habitat anddisplay apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1–2, 7, and 14, an exemplary embodiment of ananimal habitat and display system with environmental controls, generallydesignated 20, of the present invention is illustrated. In general, suchhabitat and display system is provided in a frame 22 supporting at leastone set of guide rails 24 a, 24 b on which a drawer 25 a is slidablysupported so that the drawer may be extended and retracted relative tothe frame. The drawer includes at least one compartment 26 a, 26 b, or26 c with a front wall 28 defining a window 30 and at least one wall 32movable relative to the compartment so the compartment may be accessed.An internal environment 34 is defined by the compartment and may beregulated with a regulator element 36 (FIGS. 2 and 3) in communicationwith the internal environment and is selectively operable through acontrol panel 38 connected to an environmental control unit, generallydesignated 40 (FIGS. 11–13), in electrical communication with theregulator element.

With particular reference to FIGS. 7 and 14, forming the supportstructure for the display system, the main frame assembly 22 is agenerally rectangular open structure having four upright rack railsincluding a left front rack rail 42, a right front rack rail 44, a leftrear rack rail 46 and a right rear rack rail 48 corresponding to eachcorner of the frame. A pair of left and right upper horizontal supports50 and 52 and a pair of left and right lower horizontal supports 54 and56 connect the front rack rails with the rear rack rails along the shortends of the frame.

In addition, the top ends of the front left rack rail and front rightrack rail are connected by a front upper brace 58 and the top ends ofthe rear left rack rail and rear right rack rail are connected by a rearupper brace 60, with both braces 58 and 60 spanning the width of theframe 22. A front lower brace 61 is connected to the left front rackrail 42 and right front rack rail 44 slightly above their respectivebottom edges. This brace 61 is preferably removably secured to the frameto provide ease of access underneath the frame. A rear lower brace 62projects horizontally between the left rear rack rail 46 and right rearrack rail 48 along the lowermost edge of the framework. A diagonallyprojecting reinforcement brace 64 spans from the upper end of the rightrear upright support 48 to the lower end of the left rear uprightsupport 46 strengthening the integrity of the frame. An alternativelocation for the diagonal brace 64 is illustrated in FIG. 7.

The frame members 42–64 may be secured together using conventionalfasteners, welded together, or with other suitable fastening means. Thefootprint of the frame in this exemplary embodiment is 24 inches deep by52 inches wide. Other suitable dimensions will occur to those ofordinary skill in the art. The frame 22 provides a convenient mountingstructure for a number of drawers as well as the environmental supportequipment. A panel skin 31 may cover the frame members to provide a morepleasing appearance as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In this exemplary embodiment, four drawers designated 25 a–d (FIG. 1)from top to bottom are supported by the frame. As each of the fourdrawers is similarly structured and similarly mounted to the frame atvarious locations along its height, an exemplary drawer will now bedescribed.

Referring now to FIGS. 1—2, an exemplary top drawer 25 a is slidablymounted to the frame 22 by a pair of left and right opposing guide rails24 a and 24 b fixedly secured to the frame. Each guide rail 24 a, 24 bincludes a rear slide bracket 66 a, 66 b and a forward slide bracket 68a, 68 b (only slide bracket 68 a is visible in FIG. 2). The right rearslide bracket 66 a is secured between the right rear upright 48 andright forward upright 44 using suitable fasteners through respectiverear and forward anchor flanges 70 and 72 or with a suitable weld fixingthe rear slide bracket to the frame. The forward slide bracket 68 a iscarried on the rear slide bracket 66 a and is constructed to slide alongits length in a telescopic arrangement with the rear slide bracket. Theleft slide brackets are similarly attached to the left rear and leftforward uprights 46 and 42 and are mounted in vertical alignment withthe opposing right slide brackets.

Turning to FIGS. 2, 5, and 7, a drawer locking and closing assembly,generally designated 100, is secured between the opposing rear slidebrackets 66 a, 66 b. Such assembly includes a cross beam 102 welded atopposite ends to the inside surfaces of the left and right rear slidebrackets 66 a, 66 b. Mounted at a midpoint along the cross beam is aforwardly facing plate 104 a of the magnetic locking system. Theforwardly facing plate 104 a is connected via wiring 105 to theenvironmental control unit 40 to control the unlocking and locking ofthe magnetic locking assembly or maglock as will be described below. Anelevated cage lid closing bar 106 is mounted to a pair of left and rightuprights 108, 110 welded or other secured to the cross beam 102.Inwardly facing left, right, and middle bumpers 111, 113, and 115,respectively, are carried from the closing bar, face forwardly, and arevertically aligned with the three lids of the respective tanks on thetop drawer 25 a to assist in closing the respective lids as the draweris pushed shut or retracted into the frame on the guide rails 24 a, 24 bas will be described below in more detail.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 14, mounted to eachopposing forward slide rail 68 a (68 b not shown) is a rectangularpull-out tray or shelf 74 a upon which compartment 26 rests. In thisexample, there are four such shelves 74 a–d corresponding to fourdrawers 25 a–d. Together, the tank 118 a, its compartments 26 a–c andshelf 74 a cooperate to form the respective drawer 25 a. With particularreference to FIGS. 2 and 14, the short sides 76 of a rectangular uppershelf 74 a are fixedly mounted to the respective left and right forwardslide brackets 68 a and 68 b providing a shelf that may be movedrelative to the frame 22 and fixed rear slide brackets 66 a, 66 b. It isalso contemplated that the short sides of the shelf could provideanother rail extension to allow the drawer to pull out further from theframe. The upper shelf 74 a spans the gap between the opposing upperguide rails 24 a, 24 b and provides upper and lower support surfaces forsupporting the tank 118 a and its compartments 26 a–c and mountingelectrical components such as the lighting components for regulatinglight within the tank internal environments.

The upper shelf includes spaced apart, front and rear cross supports 78and 80 secured to the inside surface of the respective left and rightfront slide brackets 68 a, 68 b, respectively. A front aesthetic cover82 with vents 233 (FIG. 2) is secured to the front facing of the frontcross support 78. A wire mesh 84 spanning the transverse width of theshelf overlies these supports and may be covered partially or entirelyby an insulating pad 123 (FIG. 4) to absorb or deflect some of the heatfrom the lighting components away from the tank supported above on theshelf. The rear cross support 80 includes an upwardly turned flange 86projecting along its length with a rearwardly facing plate 88 (FIG. 3)of a magnetic lock assembly secured thereto in a rearwardly facingconfiguration at a vertical level just above the rear cross support 102and at a midpoint of the cross support 80 length and aligned with theforwardly facing maglock plate 104 on the cross support 102 (FIG. 2).Advantageously, the short ends 76 of the shelf 74 a include an L-shapedrail guard or shield 90 with one portion 91 projecting horizontally overand extending beyond the outermost lateral edge 93 of the front slidebracket 68 a that is located inside the interior surface of the upright44 such as that shown in FIG. 2 to prevent debris such as animal beddingor other contaminants from fouling up the guide rails 24 a, 24 b. Itwill be appreciated as shown in FIG. 2 that such rail guard 90 does notinterfere with the extension or retraction of the shelf.

With reference to FIGS. 2, 4, and 8, projecting along the length of theshelf between the front and rear cross supports 78 and 80, respectively,is an elongated lighting assembly which includes an electrical conduit92 secured to the inside surface of the left and right front slidebrackets 68 a, 68 b, respectively. Mounted to the conduit usingconventional fasteners is left heat lamp assembly 94 a, central heatlamp assembly 94 b, and a right heat lamp assembly 94 c projectingtoward the rear cross support 80. The left heat lamp assembly 94 a isrepresentative of the other two heat lamp assemblies and includes a bulbsocket 96 a, a heat lamp bulb 98 a preferably rated from 15 Watts to 40Watts provides a radiating heat transfer energy source, and a downwardlyfacing, semi-cylindrical, reflective heat shield 99 a, to deflect heatin a downward and outward direction. The socket 96 a is connected to themain conduit 92 with a short projecting mini-conduit 97 a. The centraland right heat lamp assemblies 94 b, 94 c are constructed in a likemanner.

On the forward facing side of the conduit 92, a longitudinallyprojecting fluorescent lamp 112 a, is secured between opposing sockets114 a, 114 b secured to the conduit. The wiring for each of the heatlamp assemblies and the fluorescent lamp are carried within the conduitand directed out of a slot in the right side in a wiring harness 116toward the open rear of the frame 22. The wiring harness is thenconnected to the electrical circuit on the top of the frame 22 where theenvironmental control unit (ECU) 40 may be placed. For maintenancereasons, the conduit 92 may include a removable top so a repairtechnician can access the wiring within. It will also be appreciatedthat the removable wire mesh 84 facilitates maintenance of the lightingassemblies 94 a–c. The mesh also facilitates movement of air about thelight sources to assist in controlling the heat flow about the tanks.The other shelves are constructed in a similar manner so that thelighting assembly connected to a particular shelf services the tank 118a, and internal environments directly below the shelf supporting thelighting components. A top lighting assembly above the top drawer 25 amay be fixed to the frame or constructed as an independent shelf.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 14, resting atop the shelf 74 a is a tank118 a having a front wall 28, rear wall 120, a bottom wall 122 andopposing left and right walls 124 and 126 cooperating to form agenerally rectangular compartment 26 a. The front, bottom, and rearwalls span the width of the shelf 74 a from the left side to the rightside while the opposing side walls span the depth of the shelf from thefront to the back of the shelf. The respective walls are typically heldtogether where the edges meet by a suitable sealant and may be otherwisereinforced. The bottom wall 122 of the tank may be secured to the shelfusing suitable fasteners or adhesives or merely rest on top of theshelf. The tank is preferably constructed of a transparent material suchas glass, acrylic, plastic or other suitable material. At least aportion of the front wall is transparent to form a window 30 allowingpotential customers or viewers to observe the contents within thecompartments 26 a–c. The front wall of the tank may include an in-tankthermometer 125, as exemplified in compartment number three 26 c in FIG.1, adhered to the inside surface of the front panel 28 and visiblethrough the window 30. An animal care taker can easily view thethermometer to take a reading of internal habitat temperature. Suchthermometer is for visual readings only and is not connected to anyelectrical circuitry. An in-tank thermometer that is connected to theenvironmental control unit will be described below.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, in between the bottom wall 122 of thetank and wire mesh 84 is a heating pad, generally designated 162 e, thatmay provide a conductive heat source and is coupled to an electricalenvironmental control unit 40 (FIG. 12) as will be described below.Preferably, the insulating pad 123 (FIG. 4) is placed between theheating and the wire mesh to deflect some of the heat generated by thelighting component in the tray from overheating the compartment directlyabove. A heating pad 162 a–l may be placed in each respectivecompartment 26 a–l if desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 1—2, in this exemplary embodiment, left and rightdividers 128, 130, respectively, subdivide the tank into three equalsized discrete sub-compartments 26 a, 26 b, and 26 c, respectively, orcages. The left divider 128 includes a bottom end 132 held in place by apair of forward opposing stops 134 a, 134 b and rearward stops 136 a,136 b adhered or otherwise suitably secured to the bottom 122 of thetank near the front and back walls 28 and 120, respectively. It will beappreciated that the dividers could be spaced at different locationswithin the tank to form compartments of unequal size. In addition, nodividers, one dividers, or a greater number of dividers could be used toform varying compartment configurations. It will further be appreciatedthat such dividers, being in contact with the internal environments ofadjacent compartments, may inherently conduct some heat from onecompartment to another.

At the top end of the left divider 128, is a generally I-shaped, whenviewed in transverse cross section as illustrated in FIG. 9, mounted lidguide 138 screwed into the top of the divider with a set screw 140.Intermediate lid guides, that is, lid guides not located on the sidewalls 124 or 126 include opposing laterally facing slots 127 a, 127 b.The lid guide 138 and its respective slots 127 a, 127 b project alongthe length of the divider 128 from the front wall 28 of the tank to therear wall 120. The side walls 124 and 126, respectively, of the tankinclude half section lid guides (not shown) with a single slot facinginwardly toward the tank. The dividers are the same height as the sidewalls 124 and 126, respectively. The right divider 130 is constructed ina like manner.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 6, and 9, the top wall 32 of the tank 118 a isin the form of a discrete, three piece, movable lid 32 a, 32 b, and 32c. Thus, there is one lid corresponding to each compartment 26 a, 26 b,and 26 c. Each lid is perforated with holes 142 to allow air outside thecompartment to exchange with air in the internal habitat environment.One lateral side of the right end lid 32 c is illustrated in FIG. 9 andincludes a horizontally projecting rail 144 secured to the lid 32 c by ascrew or other suitable fastener 146. From the lateral outer edge of thelid 32 c, the rail 144 bends downwardly and then outwardly to form anL-shaped rail. The outwardly extending flange 148 of the rail isinserted into the slot 127 a to slide thereon. Each lid is constructedalike. Thus, each lid slides between adjacent, opposing rail guides andmay be moved relative to the tank to open the top region of the tank toaccess the internal environment and animal in the compartment. The lidsare preferably movable in a rearward direction by pushing the front edge149 of the lid rearwardly when the drawer 25 a is pulled out from theframe 22. The lids are preferably sized to close off the entire topopening of the tank 118 a. The back end 145 of each lid includes adownwardly facing bumper flange 146 at a horizontal level aligned withthe respect bumpers 111, 113, and 115 of the opposing cross beam 106.

Referring now to FIG. 10, an outwardly facing cross sectional view ofthe tank construction including reinforcement construction isillustrated. The side wall 124 is further secured to the rear wall 120by an L-shaped angle bracket 150. The front wall 28 is secured to theside wall 126 with a T-shaped bracket 152 with the short end of the“Tee” facing forwardly and the long end of the “Tee” running paralleland alongside the side wall 124. A side cover panel 154 is screwed intothe underlying support bracket with a screw 156 or other suitablefastener.

Likewise, an upper intermediate drawer 25 b, lower intermediate drawer25 c and bottom drawer 25 d including tanks 118 b–d, respectively, areseparated into three compartments 26 d–f, 26 g–i, and 26 j–l,respectively, in this example, and supported on a shelf 74 b–d,respectively, which is mounted to the frame 22 on respective sets ofupper intermediate guide rails, lower intermediate guide rails, andbottom guide rails (FIGS. 1 and 7). Thus, in this example, the animalhabitat and display system includes four drawers 25 a–d from top tobottom with four sub-divided tanks 118 a–d forming 12 discretecompartments, designated 26 a–l and corresponding with compartmentnumbers 1–12 (FIG. 1).

Each compartment 26 a–l includes its own habitat environment havingenvironmental conditions measurable by sensors such a heat, light,humidity and the like. The sensors may measure parameters definingcharacteristics of the environmental conditions within the environment.For example, the temperature sensor 226 (FIG. 2) may sense a temperaturefrom which temperature of the internal environment may be determinedeither manually or via the environmental control unit described below tosense an overheat condition or otherwise.

Furthermore, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 12, each drawer 25 a–dand its corresponding compartments 26 a–c, 26 d–f, 26 g–i, and 26 j–l,respectively, may be illuminated by fluorescent lights 112 a–d,respectively. A heat lamp 158 a–l and a heating pad element 162 a–l areassigned to each compartment 26 a–l, respectively. Each of thefluorescent lights 11 2 a–d, heat lamps 98 a–l, and heating pads 162 a–lare positioned in close proximity with said corresponding compartment 26a–l, respectively, to regulate a condition such as light and heat withinthe associated internal environment 34 a–l, respectively. Thesetemperature and light regulating components 112 a–d, 98 a–l, and 162 a–lare wired to the environmental control unit 40 as will be describedbelow in more detail for selectively controlling the internalenvironment of each tank. The term regulation, as used herein, inaddition to its plain meaning, encompasses changing, stabilizing,influencing, adjusting, and/or controlling. Due to constructionsimilarities between the drawers, guide rails, and their respectivecomponents, like components have been like numbered. This four by threeconfiguration with twelve discrete compartments is not meant to belimiting in any manner and other configurations will not depart from thescope and spirit of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, an auxiliary overtemp fan 232 and a second auxiliaryfan 234 are mounted to the bottom cross brace 62 using conventionalfasteners. These fans may be wired to the environmental control unit andcontrolled thereby. In FIG. 2, the auxiliary fan 232 is mounted at analternative location to the cross bracket 102 of the drawer closing andlocking assembly. Such fans contribute to alternative forms of coolingby drawing air from the front of the system 20 through vents 233 to theopen rear of the frame 22. It will be appreciated that some inherentpassive convective heat transfer will occur due to a difference in thetemperature of the air proximate and within the frame and compartmentsdue to heat produced by the electrical components of the system and thesurrounding ambient air. Thus, such fans may be selectively actuated toactively provide favorable heat transfer characteristics such asincreased cooling by removing the heated air from around the framecomponents and drawing in cooler ambient air.

Turning to FIGS. 1, 11, and 12, an exemplary control panel 38 isillustrated. The control panel generally includes a switch controlsection 153 and a keypad 154. The switch control section includes a setof 12 dual position, heat lamp switches designated 158 a–l positioned intwo rows of six switches in vertical alignment near the middle of thecontrol panel forming a heat lamp switch bank Each heat lamp switchcorresponds to a particular heat lamp and may turn the lamp on or off.Conveniently, the heat lamp switches are labeled 1–12 to correspond withthe particular compartments 1–12.

As viewed in FIGS. 11 and 12, to the left of these heat lamp switches158 is a set of two rows of six variable control heating pad switches,designated 160 a–l, respectively. Each switch is connected to acorresponding heating pad in the corresponding tank number 1–12 forminga heating pad switch bank. These switches may be rotated to change thedesired temperature of the variable temperature heating pads 162 a–l,respectively. As for the heat lamp switches, the heating pad switchesare labeled 1–12 for like reasons.

To the right of the heat lamp switches 158 is a master switch panel 164including a dual position, master fluorescent light switch 166positioned above and in vertical alignment with a dual position, masterheat lamp switch 168. As will be explained below each of these switchesmay turn on or off the entire associated fluorescent lamps or heatlamps.

Positioned to the right of the master switch panel 164 is the keypad 154in the form of a conventional ten key with a set of keys 0–9 155 and anadditional star key 170 and a pound key 172. The keypad is used to storeemployee codes and controls entry of the drawers 25 a by releasing themaglocks 88, 104 from one another to control access to the drawercontents as will be described below. A LED indicator 157 is alsoprovided to indicate successful code entry and/or drawer open status. Apreferred keypad is available from Quantum in the United Kingdom.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, an exemplary electrical circuitassociated with the environmental control unit 40 according to a firstembodiment of the invention for providing access and environmentalcontrols is illustrated. An AC power source 174 such as a conventionalwall outlet provides power to the master switch box connected using aconventional plug and cord to a switch box 164 including the masterfluorescent light bank switch 166 and master heat lamp bank switch 168.In series with the switch box 164 is a 24 volt direct current powersupply 176 for supplying power to the DC components, that is, themaglocks 88, 104 and the heating pads 162 a–l. The fans 232, 234 mayalso be DC powered. A safety fuse 178 is disposed in the circuit betweenthe switch box 164 and DC power supply 176. The power supply provides DCpower to the programmable keypad 154, which controls the access controlrelay board 179 including a series of relays 180 a–d for individuallyactivating and deactivating the maglock units 181 a–d, respectively,associated with each drawer 25 a–d, respectively. Relay 108 e andmaglock 181 e are spares for configuration growth.

In addition, the 24 VDC power supply is in series with the electricalheating pads 162 a–l for each tank through respective variable heatresistors switches 160 a–l controllable through the interface controlpanel 38. The heating pads are typically 40 square inches run at 24 VDCwith 38 Ohm resistance and are available from Electroflex of New Jersey.Other suitable heating pads may also be used. The variable heatresistors typically vary the temperature range of the heating pads from85 degrees F. to 104 degrees F. although other suitable temperatureranges may be used. The heating pads are connected to the DC powersupply 176 via wiring 185 a–l with an example illustrated in FIG. 3.

In addition to access and heating pad control, the electrical circuit ofthe environmental control unit 40 may energize the four fluorescent,full spectrum habitat T-8 lights 112 a–d, respectively, with a 34 Wattrating. As described above, these habitat lights 112 a–d span thelateral width of each drawer 25 a–d to position a portion of the lightover each tank 118 a–d, respectively, within the drawer to provide tothe internal environment within each compartment. The habitat lights areelectrically connected to the power source 174 and switch box 164through an electronic ballast 182. When the habitat and display system20 is plugged into the power source 174, closing the master fluorescentswitch 166 with energize all of the full spectrum lights 112 a–d.

Additional light and heat for each compartment 25 is supplied by a bankof twelve 110 VAC heat lamps 98 a–l, respectively, having a 15–40 Wattrange as desired. The heat lamps are also in electrical communicationwith the power source 174 and the master heat lamp switch 168 of theswitch box 166. Each heat lamp includes its own individual controlswitch 158 a–l as well. Closing all control switches 158 a–l willenergize all of the heat lamps 98 a–l, respectively, if the power source174 is on and the master heat switch 168 is closed. Individual of suchheat lamps 98 a–l may be turned off by opening the associated controlswitch 158 a–l. In addition, opening the master heat lamp switch 168opens the circuit and turns off all of the heat lamps 98 a–l.

Usage of the Habitat and Display System:

In use, several convenient features of the animal habitat and displaysystem will be appreciated. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 11–12, assuminginitially that the animal habitat and display system 20 is plugged intoan active wall outlet 174 and each the drawers 25 a–d are initiallyclosed as illustrated in FIG. 1 and all maglocks 181 a–d (FIG. 12)including plates 88 a–d (88 a, 88 c, and 88 d not shown) coupled withcorresponding plates 104 a–d, (FIG. 7), respectively, are activated sothat each drawer is locked, the operator or animal care taker, storeowner, employee or the like, must first gain authorized access to aparticular drawer 25 a–d to release the corresponding maglock 181 a–d,respectively, using the keypad 154 on the control panel 38. For example,the store employee must first enter his or her employee code which iscompared to the employee code listing stored in the keypad 154. Entry ofa proper code by depressing the keypad keys 155 followed by selection ofa drawer number (1–4), corresponding to drawers 25 a–d, respectively,transmits current to the relay control 179 associated with the selecteddrawer to energize the relay 180 a–d to demagnetize the maglock 181 a–dso that the user may separate plate 88 a (not shown) from plate 104 a,for example, and pull the selected drawer 25 a out on its guide rails 24a, 24 b. Assuming the top drawer 25 a is selected, the operator graspsthe bottom edge of the front of the shelf 74 a and pulls the drawereasily out away from the frame on the guide rails. The maglocks andkeypad circuitry ensure only one drawer may be pulled out at a time orthe display system 20 is sufficiently weighted so as to not fall overwhen one or more drawers are open. The maglocks are rated at 200–300pounds pulling force to overcome their magnetic attraction and areavailable from Securitron of Reno, Nev., Camden of Canada or Sprint inHong Kong. Other suitable keyless entry methods such as thoseincorporating conventional biometric devices may also be used.Additional programming and computing power may be supplied by connectinga processing unit to the keypad.

After selecting a particular compartment 26 a–c in the drawer 25 a, forexample, 26 c, the operator simply pushes the front edge 149 of the lid32 c and slides the lid 32 c in a rearward fashion along its respectiveguide rails 144 in relative to the bottom wall 122 of the compartmentthereby enabling the animal care giver to reach into the compartment andinternal habitat environment and place or retrieve an animal or otherobject. The other compartments in the same drawer may likewise beaccessed. When the operator no longer requires access to any of thecompartments in the drawer, with one hand the drawer 25 a may be pushedrearwardly toward the frame 22. In closing, the rear bumper flange 146(FIG. 5) of any open lids, such as lid 32 c in this example, will bumpinto the bumpers 111, 113, and 115 of the opposing upper cross beam 106driving the lid 32 c along its rails 144 toward the front of the displaysystem 20 thereby closing the lid and closing off the associatedcompartment 26 c. It will be appreciated that only one hand is needed toperform the drawer closing and lid closing all in one motion. Uponclosing the opposing maglocks components will reactivate locking thedrawer 25 a back in place. A store owner having a master code may verifythe last entries of employees codes in the keypad to determine who hadaccess. In addition, if an employee is terminated, no key lock must bechanged out and the ex-employee code can easily be removed as a viableaccess code.

To control the internal environment of a compartment 26 a–c in the topdrawer 25 a, for example, other than access, the operator may again usethe control panel 38 (FIG. 11). In this example, the operator wouldinitially switch the heat lamp master switch 168 to the on position toenergize the heat lamps circuits. Then, depending on the particulartank, the operator would switch the particular heat lamp switch 158 a–lto the on position to energize the associated heat lamp 98 a–l. Forinstance, to turn the heat lamp on in compartment number three 26 c, theoperator would switch on heat lamp switch 158 c. The heat lamp wouldthen provide both heat and light to the internal environment of thecompartment 26 c. Other heat lamps may be activated in a like manner.Switching the master heat lamp switch 168 to the off position turns offall heat lamps.

The operator may also switch on all the fluorescent lamps 11 2 a–d bymerely switching on the master fluorescent lamp switch 166 on thecontrol panel 38. Each fluorescent lamp lights up the internalenvironment of all the compartments 26 a–c of a particular drawer 25a–d. Control of individual fluorescent lights is also contemplated.

If additional or alternative heat is needed, the operator may select aparticular heating pad switch 160 a–l on the control panel 38 and turnsthe switch to the desired setting. Variable current is supplied to theselected heating pad 162 a–l to bring the heating pad to the selectedtemperature. The operator may view the in-tank thermometer 125 todetermine if the heat setting is correct. The heating pad switch may beturned to the off position if no heat from the heating pad is required.While the above described embodiment provides environmental control forthe animal habitat and display system 20, even more advanceenvironmental control is contemplated as will now be described.

Automatic Control System and Usage:

Referring now to FIG. 13, a schematic diagram of a second exemplaryembodiment of the animal habitat and display system, generallydesignated 200, is illustrated with sensory feedback and active controlsfor advanced environmental control. Such system 200 may also provideremote reporting capability as will be described below. The constructionof the habitat and display system 200 is similar in construction to thehabitat and display system 20 of the first embodiment except that theenvironmental control unit 202 and control panel 203 includes moresophisticated circuitry and is in electrical communication with a numberof sensors to determine conditions both inside the compartment 26 andoutside the compartment, e.g. the ambient temperature. As in the firstembodiment, the magnetic locks 204 and heating pads 206 are hardwired tothe environmental control unit (ECU) 202. However, the ECU 202 includesa main control printed circuit board (PCB) 208 with a programmablemicroprocessor (CPU) 210. The main control board is also in electricalcommunication with a second PCB, the lighting PCB 212 via connector 213.The lighting PCB 212 is hardwired to the ballast 214 and fluorescentlamps 216 for each drawer unit to transmit on/off signals to thefluorescent lamps and monitor the voltage of each lamp. In addition, thelighting PCB 212 hardwired to the 12 heat lamps 218 disposed in four setof three in the respective tray above each compartment as describedabove in the first embodiment. The lighting PCB 212 also transmitson/off signals to the heat lamps, either individually or as a group andmonitors the voltage produced by each heat lamp.

With continued reference to FIG. 13, the main control PCB 208 is inelectrical communication with another PCB, the LCD/KEYPAD PCB 220, viaconnector 221 which in turn is in electrical communication with thecontrol panel 203. The LCD/KEYPAD PCB is hardwired to a keypad 222,constructed in a similar manner as described in the first embodiment,and an LCD panel 224, which may be a touch screen display; bothcooperate to form the control panel 203 or may be used individually. Apreferred LCD panel is available from Ampire. The LCD/KEYPAD PCB 220 maytransmit input from the keypad 222 or LCD panel 224 to the main controlPCB 208. In addition, the LCD/KEYPAD PCB 220 may transmit displaysignals or commands from the main control PCB 220 to the keypad or LCDpanel for display. The PCB's described above are proprietary to NorthAmerican Pet in Corona, Calif.

The main control PCB 208 is also hardwired to a set of 12overtemperature switches 226, positioned in each tank, one of which mayseen in FIG. 2. Preferred overtemp switches are digital and may beobtained from Sensidyne and may detect or sense temperature and also maybe set to close a switch upon reaching a preselected temperature andupon the switch upon reaching a second preselected temperature. Analogswitches may also be used. The main control PCB continuously orperiodically takes readings from these overtemp switches which sense thetemperature within each tank. If the temperature exceeds a preselectedtrigger point or set point, a shutdown sequence may be initiated as willbe described below. The overtemp switches may also be directly wiredinto the heat lamp circuit and will open the circuit to turn of off theassociated heat lamp if the trigger temperature point is reached. Anambient temperature sensor 228 is also hardwired to the main controlPCB. A preferred ambient temperature sensor is available from Sensirion.The ambient temperature sensor is located on the display system to sensethe temperature outside the tanks and generally surrounding the displaysystem (FIG. 1). Alternatively, the ambient temperature sensor may belocated away from the display system to take readings of the ambienttemperature in other parts of the complex where the display apparatus isset up. A humidity sensor 230 may also be hardwired to the main controlboard 208 and is positioned in a similar manner to the ambienttemperature sensor for detecting the local humidity outside of thetanks. As the ambient temperature may effect the internal environment ineach compartment, the main control board receives input from the ambienttemperature and may adjust accordingly. For example, if the ambienttemperature is less than a preselected temperature such as 68 degreesfor example, the heating elements may be adjusted upward to provide moreheat the compartments. Likewise, if the ambient temperature is above apreselected temperature such as 85 degrees, then the heating componentsmay be adjusted to transfer less heat into the compartments. The maincontrol board may continuously or periodically monitor the ambient tempsensor 228 and adjust the heating and lighting components accordingly.The main control board may also initiate an alarm if the humidity sensorreading is too low or too high so the animal care taker can adjust theanimal's environment accordingly.

It is also contemplated that an optional package may swap out theovertemp switches 226 with a combined temperature/humidity sensor whichmay be placed in each of the tanks and hardwired to the main controlboard 208 to provide temperature and humidity readings from eachindividual tank to the main control board 208.

Continuing with FIG. 13, an overtemp auxiliary fan 232 is hardwired tothe main control board 208. This overtemp fan is mounted on the rearsection of the frame opposing the bottom drawer (FIG. 7) to draw airacross from the front of the display rack 20 through the vents 233 onthe front bottom panel 63 and out the rear of the open frame 22.Although the overtemp fan is illustrated on the bottom rack, it will beappreciated that a fan may be mounted to the frame behind each drawer todrawer cooler air, indicated by direction arrows, 235, through vents 233in the front of the display system across trays 74 a-d and heat lamps 98a-l and out the open back of the tray or shelf, as indicated bydirectional arrows 237, through the fan 232 in the direction of arrow239 to remove undesirable high temperature air from the drawer and tankenvironments (FIG. 2). The fans described herein may be obtained fromComair Rotron.

If amphibians are placed in the habitat and display system, such animalsare typically placed on the bottom rack as they require a coolerenvironment and such placement keeps them out of the rising highertemperature air. Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 13, a second auxiliary fan234, primarily used to assist in keeping the temperature of the lowerdrawer 25 d cooler than those drawers above the bottom drawer, isillustrated. Such fan 234 is hardwired to the main control board 208 andmay run frequently to draw cool air from the front of the habitat anddisplay system underneath the bottom of the lower drawer and out theback of the unit. If animals placed in the bottom drawer compartments donot require lower temperature requirements, then the second auxiliaryfan 234 may be used sparingly or as a complement to the first auxiliaryfan in cooling down the air in the tank environments.

With continued reference to FIG. 13, the main control board 208 of theECU 202 includes a DC power management and diagnostic control unit 236.This DC power unit is hardwired to a source of DC power, indicatedschematically at 238, which may be a 5, 12, and/or 24 VDC source tosupply power to the heating pads 162 a–l, fans 232, 234, and magneticlocks 204. The diagnostic unit may monitor voltage of the DC componentsto determine if the components are working properly and report thefindings to the main control board for reporting purposes and togenerate error condition, warnings, or alarms.

In addition, if the DC power supply shuts down for any reason, a backup24 VDC battery 240 supplies power to the system 200. The fluorescentlights 216 and heat lamps 218 are powered by a conventional power sourcesuch as wall outlet 242 supplying AC power. The power source also isconnected to a surge controller 244 to control voltage spikes and thelike from harming the circuitry of the ECU 202. A maglock overrideswitch 245 is connected to the backup battery and DC power supply. Suchswitch will close if the DC power supply fails and does not turn back onafter a preselected time limit to transmit a signal to the main controlboard 208 to open the magnetic locks after the preselected time. Thisallows the animal care takers to remove the animals from the tanks ifnecessary after otherwise securing the environment around the habitatand display system 200. Also, if the main PCB fails, the maglocks may beprogrammed to automatically lock at least for a designated time periodto deter theft.

It will be appreciated that the incorporation of the PCB's reduces theamount of wiring required for each of the heating and lightingcomponents thus reducing the overall heat of the system 20.

For warning purposes, an alarm 246, which may provide either visual oraural stimulus, is hardwired to the main control board will transmit analarm signal if a critical state is reached in any of the tankenvironments as determined by the CPU 210 from input readings of thevarious sensors 226, 228 and heating pad 206 and light 216, 218 status.

The main control board 208 of the ECU 202 is also constructed with adevice server board 248 that plugs into the main control board. Suchdevice server board includes a port for connecting via a communicationline 250 to a local network 252 such as an ethernet or local accessnetwork (LAN). A preferred device server board is available fromLantronics of Irvine, Calif. At least one terminal 253 or desktopcomputer laptop is connected to the local network. The local network isthen connected via a second communication line 254 to a global network,represented in FIG. 13 as the Internet 256. The store owner may alsohave a personal computer or store computer 258 connected to the Internetto receive messages from the reporting server 260 in communication withthe remote client computer over the Internet. The remote reportingserver compiles diagnostic data from the ECU 202 for each tankenvironment and associated control items and sensors. The server isconnected to a printer 262 for printing out hard copy reports 264 and adatabase 266 for storing the diagnostic history of each tank. The remotereporting server may be managed by a central service charging asubscription fee for the reporting service or as a built-in cost of thehabitat and animal display apparatus.

When ready to use, the habitat and display system is connected to apower source 242 so that power may be supplied to the lightingcomponents and the DC power supply 238 is activated to supply power tothe maglocks 204, heating pads 206, and fans 232, 234. The ECU 202 isalso supplied with power. The surge protector 244 inhibits voltagespikes from damaging the system while the back-up battery 240 goes intostandby mode.

It will now be appreciated with the following description that the ECU202 may be used to individually control the internal environment 34 ofeach tank 118, including both lighting and temperature, by setting thelighting and temperature parameters for each tank. The ECU thencontinuously or periodically monitors each tank and the systemcomponents for error conditions. If an error condition arises, asdetermined by the ECU 202, the ECU will generate a response to eithercorrect the situation and/or alert the display operator that an errorcondition exists and must be addressed or the health of an animal in thehabitat and display system may be jeopardized.

As the comfortable temperature range of different animals varies, theoperator must first input the desired temperature for each tank 118. Forexample, most reptiles and amphibians are comfortable within atemperature range of 85 degrees to 104 degrees with the amphibianspreferring the lower end of the range. In this example the tanks arenumbered left to right starting with the top drawer 25 a. Using thekeypad 222, the operator may depress the key representative of the tankin which the temperature is to be set. It will be appreciated that theLCD panel 224 is an alternative input means for transmitting inputthrough the LCD/KEYPAD PCB 220 to the main control board 208. In thisexample, the operator selects tank “1” by depressing the number “1” onthe keypad 222 (and FIG. 11) and then entering the temperature setting,for example 85 degrees using the keys as well. The star or pound signmay be used to indicate send. The keypad sends the inputted keystrokessignals to the LCD/KEYPAD PCB 220 which in turn transmits the tank andtemperature setting to the main control board 208. The main controlboard then sends a control signal to the heating pad 162 a–l,respectively, associated with the selected tank to vary the resistanceof the variable temperature heating pad setting the heating pad at thedesired temperature as selected on the keypad.

Other tanks may be selected and the temperature set in a similar manner.When the temperatures of all the tanks to receive animals have been set,the system 200 is allowed to stabilize. During this time, the maincontrol board receives measured temperature readings from each tanksovertemp switch 226. The user may check the temperature in each tankusing the in-tank thermometer 125 or alternatively using the LCD panel224 to call up a tank and associated temperature display which may be anumber or a graphical representation of the temperature.

The lighting may be controlled in a similar manner. The LCD panel mayalso be used to select with heat lamps 218 are turned on for each tankand fluorescent lamps 216 are turned on for each drawer 25. The lightingswitch bank 158 as described above for the first embodiment may be usedalternatively.

Assuming the temperatures stabilize, the animals are placed in theirrespective tanks and cared for in conventional fashion as describedabove for the first embodiment. As temperature conditions outside thetank may vary or the temperature regulating components may fail, the ECUcontinually or periodically monitors the temperature conditions of eachtank via the in-tank overtemp switches 226.

More specifically, the main control board 208 of the ECU 202 may receivesensor readings from the in-tank sensors 226 measuring the environmentalparameter of temperature to determine if the temperature in a particulartank 118 is in an overtemp condition and thus the internal environmentof the associated tank is unsuitable for the animal. The readings sentto the CPU 210 which is programmed to compare the temp switch 225measurements with the preselected temperature setting. Readings taken bythe main control board 208 from the ambient temperature sensor 228 andambient humidity sensor 230 are also taken into account when determiningif a critical condition exists.

For example, if both amphibians and reptiles are situated in the tankenvironments, the desired temperature setting within a particular tankmay vary from about 85 degrees to about 104 degrees. These temperaturesrepresent an exemplary low set point (85 degrees) and a high set point(104 degrees). If temperature conditions as sensed by any of theovertemp switches 226 fall outside this range, a sequence of events istriggered. At the simplest level of response, the main control board208, upon detecting a temperature range error from the in-tank tempsensors 226, transmit a command signal to the alarm 246 to actuate avisual or aural stimulus to draw the operator's attention to the habitatand display system 200. The operator, upon receiving the alarm, mayinvestigate the source of the problem by checking the environmentalparameters for each tank internal environment using the in-tankthermometer 125 or LCD panel 224 environmental readout which may be atext or graphical display representing the temperature of each tank aswell as the power status of the DC components including the maglocks204, heating pads 206, and fans 232 and 234. The operator may fix thesituation or remove the animal from the affected tank environment.

The ECU 202 may also provide a more advanced level of response in theform of a shutdown sequence, particularly for overtemp conditions. If,for example, the overtemp switch 226 detects an overtemp condition, i.e.an internal tank environment temperature over 104 degrees in thisexample, the switch will close transmitting a signal to the main controlboard 208 that a particular tank has reached an overtemp condition. Themain control board 208 will send a command signal to the auxiliary fan232 to turn on to begin drawing air from the front of the display systemtoward the back of the system in an attempt to generate a cooler airflow through the system. The main control board 208 will continue tomonitor the overtemp switch which is selected to open upon reaching atemperature of 85, in this example. If the overtemp switch 226 has notopened with a certain time period, for example, one minute, the maincontrol board will actuate the second auxiliary fan 234 in a similarmanner and continue to take temperature parameter measurements of thetank having an internal environment in critical condition.

The next step in the shutdown sequence is for the main control board 208to turn the heat lamp 218 of the problem tank off by transmitting an offcommand signal to the lighting control board 212, which in turn opensthe circuit of the selected heat lamp to turn the lamp off. The nextstep in the shutdown sequence is to turn the heat pad 206 in the problemtank off followed turning all heat pads 206 for the entire system off.The fluorescent lights are then turned off per drawer or in theirentirety. Between each of these steps, it will be appreciated that themain control board 208 takes temperature readings from the overtempswitch 226 in the problem tank. If the temperature drops below a presetvalue, for example, 85 degrees, the next step of the shutdown sequenceis not taken. If all steps are taken, the main control board willactuate the alarms, both visual and audible to alert the operator.Alternative shutdown procedures will occur to one of ordinary skill inthe art.

It will be appreciated that in case of a power outage wherein the ACpower supply 242 is unavailable effecting the DC power supply 238, abattery back up 240 activates to provide power to the DC components suchas the maglocks 204, heating pads 206 and fans 232, 234. The batteryback-up may last for about 20 minutes. While the light components willbe deactivated, the animals will still receive some heat from theheating pads 206 and the fans may be activated if an overtemperaturecondition is detected by the main control board 208. In addition, themaglocks 204 may be opened using the control panel 203 so an operatorcan open a particular drawer 25 to gain access to the animal if desired.If the battery backup unit 240 fails, a maglock override switch 245closes sending a signal to the main control board 208 to send an opencommand signal to the maglock 204 after a predetermined time period.Thus, the operator may access and handle the animals if necessary toprevent harm to the animals or complete a sale.

Remote Reporting:

Remote reporting entails notifying a store owner, veterinarian, or otheranimal care taker, not currently on-site with the animal habitat anddisplay apparatus, that a serious environmental condition exists in atleast one the tanks. Such remote reporting may be provided by a centraladministrative device manager also at a remote location via asubscription service or as a built-in cost to the display unit. It willbe appreciated that remote reporting of error conditions occurring inthe animal habitat and display system is advantageous as the animals areoften left unattended during closing hours and since ambient temperaturefrequently varies throughout the night and day which may severely effectthe conditions of the animal habitat when no one is in attendance. Thus,the on-site alarms may not be seen until the open of business hourslater. In addition other conditions such as power outages, fire,flooding, and other environmental hazard conditions may effect theenvironment in which the animals live and require a rapid response topreserve the health of the animals.

It is also common practice for a manager to be responsible for a regionand thus a number of stores or in the case of veterinarian animal caretaker, away from the clinic where the animals are located. Thus, thepresent invention contemplates a remote reporting feature to alert theanimal care takers at a remote location over a communication networkusing email or the Internet, or alternatively via telephone or pagingservice via landline or wireless communication.

For example, with continued reference to FIG. 13, if an error condition,such as an overtemp condition or component failure, is detected by themain control board 208, a signal indicating the error condition,location of the error, i.e. tank or component, and street address of theanimal display or other suitable location identifier is sent to thedevice server/network port 248 which is connected to the local network252 via communication line 250. Alternatively, the network port could beconnected directly to the Internet using TCP/IP and conventionalcommunication hardware and software. Each habitat system would beassigned a unique port address to identify its location. The errormessage is transmitted across the local network lines to a localterminal on-site. Thus, a manager may locate the terminal in his or heroffice away from the display system and still receive error messages andalarm notifications over the network.

As the store manager or animal care taker may not be on-site at allduring an error condition, the error message may be transmitted toremote reporting server 260 which gathers the error data and stores itin a database 266 for historical analytical purposes. An error printout264 may be generated using the printer 262. The animal care taker maythen be notified by the reporting service through any of the variouscommunication means including email to the remote client's personalcomputer 258 also connected to the Internet. The remote reportingservice provide may also access the animal care taker's contactinformation including phone number or pager number in the database andcontact the animal care taker in a corresponding fashion.

For example, the main control board 208 detects via the overtemp switch226 that tank No. 1 is in an overheat condition while the store wherethe animal habitat and display apparatus is unattended. After theshutdown sequence is initiated and the alarms 246 triggered, the maincontrol board sends an error signal indicating that tank No. 1 is anoverheat condition, the shutdown sequence did not terminate thecondition, and the store location identifier to the network port 248.The error signal is transmitted over communication line 250 to the localnetwork and communication line 254 to the Internet and is received bythe remote reporting server 260 of the remote reporting service. Theremote reporting server may then store the information in the database266 and also transmit an email notification containing the error messageto the remote client PC 258. The animal care taker, upon receiving theemail, may then travel to the location of the animal habitat and displaysystem 200 and investigate the error. The remote reporting may also usethe diagnostic feature and inform clients of any component failures.

While the present invention has been described herein in terms of anumber of preferred embodiments for display animals or objects, variouschanges and improvements may also be made to the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof.

For example, while the present embodiments have been described in termsof animal habitats and displays, and particularly, reptiles andamphibians, the present invention also contemplates providing a habitatfor other types of animals and alternatively may be used as storage anddisplay device for inanimate objects as well. In addition, while thelighting components were described primarily in terms of fluorescentlamps, it will be appreciated that other lighting components such asincandescent lamps, infrared lamps, and ultraviolet lamps may be used aswell. Also, the heat transfer component may be selected fromincandescent lamps, radiant heat lamps, infrared lamps, ceramic heatemitters, black lights, heating pads, hot rocks, heat tape, and/orundersubstrate hot blocks. Such lighting and heat transfer componentsmay be used together or separately in any combination to contribute tothe environmental control of the compartments as necessary.

1. An environmentally controlled animal habitat and display systemcomprising: a frame supporting at least one drawer having a firstcompartment defining a first air filled internal environment and asecond compartment defining a second air filled internal environment,said compartments being separated by a common divider wall operable toconduct heat directly between said environments; a first heating elementin communication with said first internal environment and selectivelyoperable to transfer heat to said first internal environment; a secondheating element in communication with said second internal environmentand selectively operable to transfer heat to said second internalenvironment; a first temperature sensor operable to measure a firsttemperature within said first internal environment and transmit acorresponding first temperature signal; a second temperature sensoroperable to measure a second temperature within said second internalenvironment and transmit a corresponding second temperature signal; andan environmental control unit in communication with said heatingelements and said sensors, said control unit being operable to, uponreceipt of said first and second temperature signals, transmit a commandsignal to said first and second heating elements to selectively regulatesaid first and second temperatures.
 2. The animal habitat and displaysystem as set forth in claim 1 further including: an ambient temperaturesensor operable to measure and transmit an ambient temperature signalcorresponding to a temperature external to said internal environments;and said control unit is in communication with said ambient temperaturesensor and operable, upon receipt of said ambient temperature signal andsaid first and second temperature signals, to transmit a command signalto said first and second heating elements to selectively regulate saidfirst and second temperatures.
 3. The animal habitat and display systemas set forth in claim 1 wherein: said heating elements include aradiating heating element positioned above said compartments and aconductive heating element positioned below said compartments.
 4. Theanimal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 3 wherein: saidframe includes an upper drawer and a lower drawer with each of saiddrawers including a support shelf and a subdivided tank resting thereonand defining said first and second compartments with said shelves beingslidably coupled to said frame via a corresponding set of guide railsmovable between an extended position and a retracted position; saidradiating heating elements for said lower drawer are supported by saidshelf of said upper drawer; and said conductive heating elements forsaid lower drawer are supported by said shelf of said lower drawer. 5.The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 furtherincluding: at least one auxiliary fan mounted on said frame and incommunication with said environmental control unit, said fan beingresponsive to a command signal from said environmental control unit toperiodically direct heated air from around said compartments out oneside of said frame and draw in cooler air around said compartments froman opposite side of said frame.
 6. The animal habitat and display systemas set forth in claim 1 wherein: said control unit includes an alarm anda voltage monitor in communication with said heat transfer elements,said monitor being operable to detect a failure of a heating elementwhereupon said environmental control unit activates said alarm.
 7. Theanimal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein: saidcompartments include at least one perforated wall constructed to allowconvective heat exchange between ambient air outside said compartmentswith air in said internal environments.
 8. The animal habitat anddisplay system as set forth in claim 1 further including: an overtempsensor in communication with at least one compartment and saidenvironmental control unit, said sensor being operable to send anovertemperature signal to said control unit upon detection of anovertemperature condition in said compartment; and said control unitbeing programmed to selectively shutdown said heating element incommunication with said compartment upon receipt of said overtemperaturesignal.
 9. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 8further including: an overtemp auxiliary fan mounted on said frame andin communication with environmental control unit, said overtempauxiliary fan being operable to activate upon receipt of saidovertemperature signal by said control unit.
 10. The animal habitat anddisplay system as set forth in claim 1 further including: a controlpanel in communication with said environmental control unit andselectively operable to activate said heating elements and said controlpanel includes a selectively accessible input device.
 11. The animalhabitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 further including: ahumidity sensor positioned in at least one of said compartments and incommunication with said environmental control unit, said environmentalcontrol unit being programmed to emit an alarm responsive to a humiditythreshold setpoint sensed by said humidity sensor.
 12. The animalhabitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 further including: anambient humidity sensor operable to measure and transmit an ambienthumidity signal corresponding to a humidity level external to saidinternal environments; and said control unit is in communication withsaid ambient humidity sensor and operable, upon receipt of said ambienthumidity signal and said first and second temperature signals, totransmit a command signal to said first and second heat transferelements to selectively regulate said first and second temperatures. 13.The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:said environmental control unit includes a main control board having aprogrammable processor, said processor being programmed to periodicallymonitor said heating elements for error conditions and generatediagnostic signals; and further including a device server interface incommunication with said main control board, said device server interfaceincluding a port for communicating said diagnostic signals over acommunication line to a remote location; and a remote reporting serverin communication with said device server interface from said remotelocation and operable to process said diagnostic signals received fromsaid programmable processor.
 14. The animal habitat and display systemas set forth in claim 13 wherein: said remote reporting server includesa printer operable to print out said processed diagnostic signalsreceived from said processor.
 15. The animal habitat and display systemas set forth in claim 13 wherein: said remote reporting server includesa database for storing a diagnostic history of at least one regulatorelement.
 16. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim1 further including: at least one lighting component in communicationwith said control unit and selectively operable to transfer light, whencommanded by said control unit, to a region within each of saidcompartments.
 17. The animal habitat and display system as set forth inclaim 1 wherein: said first and second heating elements include aradiating heat source and a conductive heat source; and furtherincluding an active convective heating controller in the form of a fancoupled to said environmental control unit and operable to periodicallymove heated air away from around said compartments and draw cooler airtoward said compartments.
 18. An animal habitat and display systemcomprising: a frame including a first shelf disposed below a secondshelf, said shelves being telescopically mounted to said frame andslidably movable between a fully extended position and a fully closedposition; a tank resting atop said first shelf and defining acompartment with an internal environment, said tank further including afront wall with a transparent region for viewing the contents of saidcompartment and at least one perforated wall movable relative to saidcompartment to provide access thereinto; at least one overhead lightingcomponent supported by said second shelf and movable therewith, saidlighting component being operable to cast light downwardly into saidtank resting atop said first shelf when said first and second shelvesare in a substantially vertical alignment; means for heating saidinternal environment; means for preventing forward withdrawal of saidshelves from a fully closed position; and an environmental control meansfor controlling said lighting component, said means for heating, andsaid means for preventing forward withdrawal of said shelves.